Money laundering case: Shabir Shah seeks bail (Lead)

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah, arrested on charges of money laundering, sought bail here on Wednesday after he was remanded to 14 days judicial custody.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma remanded Shah to judicial custody after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not seek further custodial interrogation of the accused. Shah was taken to the court on the expiry of his six-day custody.

The court listed the matter for hearing the bail plea of Shah for August 14.

In his bail application, Shah’s counsel M.S. Khan said the ED has mislead the court and concealed the fact that there was no conviction of the accused, Muhammad Aslam Wani, for the offences relating to waging of war, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and more.

Khan also stated that Shah had been under continuous house arrest since 2011 and not allowed to attend the prayers in mosque and to even visit relatives and friends even in the case of death of near and dear ones.

He said Shah was suffering from various ailments and needed proper treatment. The counsel claimed that the allegations levelled against his client were motivated.

Shah is a respectable person, a known political leader and Chairman of the Democratic Freedom Party, he said.

“The allegations levelled against him are motivated and based on falsehood and the purpose of getting the accused on remand was only to create evidence against the accused,” the bail plea stated.

Shah said he will abide by any condition imposed by the court while granting him bail.

He was arrested from Srinagar on July 25 on charges of money laundering in a case dating back to 2005 where the Delhi Police Special Cell had arrested hawala dealer Wani.

Wani had reportedly confessed that he had passed on hawala money worth Rs 2.25 crore to Shah. The ED had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against them.

The ED arrested Wani on Sunday. He was remanded to custody till August 14.

In the 2005 case lodged by the Special Cell, the court had acquitted co-accused Wani of the charges of criminal conspiracy and other offences but convicted him under the Arms Act.